At least 21 people were killed in separate incidents amid heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh on Monday, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said.
A temple in Shimla’s Summer Hill area collapsed following a landslide, killing at least nine people. With the rescue operations underway, a least 20-25 people are feared to be trapped under debris, the Chief Minister said.
In Solan, at least seven people were killed and three others reported missing in a cloudburst in the Jadon village, said officials Monday.
Two houses and one cowshed were also washed away, according to news agency ANI.
The continuous rainfall for around 55 hours wreaked havoc in the state as flooding, landslides, and falling trees damaged many houses in Mandi, Sirmaur, Shimla, Hamirpur, Bilaspur and Solan. At least a dozen vehicles were also damaged. Many houses are reportedly without electricity and water.
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More than 800 roads, including Kalka-Shimla, Chandigarh-Manali, Shimla-Dharamshala, and Paonta-Shilai NH, have been closed across the state, affecting over 2,000 bus routes.
The meteorological department has issued a heavy rainfall alert for the next three to four hours. It sounded a cautionary note for the catchment areas of Beas, Pong Dam, Ranjit Sagar, and Sutlej rivers, warning of events like cloudburst. Flood warnings have been issued for nine districts until Tuesday.
CM Sukhu condoled the deaths. “We have directed the authorities to ensure all possible assistance and support to the affected families during this trying period,” he said in a Twitter post. The deceased have been identified as Harnam (38), Kamal Kishore (35), Hemlata (34), Rahul (14), Neha (12), Golu (8) and Raksha (12), Superintendent of Police, Solan, Gaurav Singh was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
CM Sukhu held a virtual meeting with all the district commissioners late Sunday evening. Following this, he declared a holiday for all schools, colleges, industrial training institutes, engineering, polytechnic, and pharmacy colleges for Monday. Postgraduate and BEd examinations have also been cancelled.
